We made a move...

White Guy has been at a stable because of the injury. But we had some wonderful people who have offered their horse stable to us just to use. Now that White Guy has completed the hydro therapy we decided to move him. It is so much easier. Now all the horses are in the same general area within two streets of each other so we aren't running to two different parts of town to take care of the horses. I let him out of the stall to crazy some of the grass and the son keeps and eye on him and practices his roping while I muck out the stall. Then we work together on getting him feed and watered. Or sometimes I take the horse for a walk and the son mucks out. (Like it this way much better!!!)

I am truly enjoying my time with my son. It is a rare opportunity to have an adult child at home everyday day in and day out. We try to go out on an adventure everyday. Friday we went to an antique mall and just had a great time looking around. He has been so wonderful about this injury and so pleasant to be around. As he gets better and get on his own again I will look back on this time and count it as one of the greatest blocks of time in my life with Matt.

Worth waking up for...

We have a great routine in the morning. My husband gets up at 5:00 and takes Alex to Seminary in the morning. Then I head back and pick her up. She and I have about 35 minutes before she has to be at basketball so we either make a trip to the grocery store or just sit and visit (which I love the very most!! It is amazing when you are in a vehicle with your child and time on your hands how they will open to you and talk about everything and anything. It is amazing what you can learn!!) But last Friday she didn't have basketball so she and I came home. This is what greeted us as we drove East. It was so beautiful and thank heavens I had my camera!!

A day out...

On day Matt and I took a drive looking for a sewing repair shop. Driving through a little town we noticed a western store that was closing down. So we popped in. They were closing because of the economy.( We have now had three major stores close here because it. Circuit City, Linen and Things and also this store.)

Anyway Matt found a Stetson hat that was 1/2 it's original price. So we bought it. They also had had steamers there so he decided to use their steamers to start to shape his hat.

It is really hard for him to stand for very long so he sat on a stool but it was hard and hurt so he did some shaping and then we popped to Walmart and bought a kettle so he could finish reshaping it at home.

Finished product. Notice the smiling model. I just love her smile. It just lights up the whole world, room, and our lives.

He still needs to fine tune this part of the hat!! But he is almost there.

There is that cute smile again!!

My husband...

The many sides of my husband!! He is sure a good man!! and boy does he love to take naps!!! Must be because he is always in HIGH STRESS mode. Except when he is on the ranch puttsin in the yard or feeding the horse, or 4 wheeling.

Tumbleweeds...

A tumbleweed is the above-ground part of a plant that, once mature and dry, separates from the root and tumbles (rolls) away in the wind.
And of course the wind blows here so there are tumbleweeds everywhere. Actually the above picture and the below picture were taken on the ranch that our son worked on this past summer. We were driving from the main town out to the head quarters of the ranch and came across this long row of tumbleweeds. If you could walk out into the middle of them I am sure they would be up to my waist based upon where they are on the fence line. BUT of course I wouldn't be walking out there because there is probably a snake right where I would walk. Then it would scare me, I would faint, and the snake would bite me, I would die right there on the spot from either the snake bite or fright. So I just looked at the tumbleweed from the road!!!

A couple of days ago a wind storm came through. It was blowing everything everywhere. It even picked up a pickup and F350 and slammed it against the guardrail. Or so the hairdressers husband said!! But it was blowing like crazy. Most people said the worst they had seen in 25 years. There was huge red cloud that huge over the area. It was the dirt that had been stirred up from the farm ground that hasn't been planted yet. This tumble weed was rolling across the road. I thought they maybe had better post a sign... TUMBLEWEED CROSSING!!!

Have a great Valentines day!!

Which way is up?!?...

For some crazy reason Rooster loves to sleep on his back with his feet either curled up like you see in the photos or else with them straight in the air. He is such a crazy dog and we love him! As a matter of fact everyone loves him. When we go to the horse barn everyone is so excited to see Rooster!!

Everything seems to be rolling along. We have finally gotten everything I think negotiated on the house. Now we just have to wait. The family is having a home that was almost built finished so we are going to have to stay in temporary housing until the latter part of March. We have lived without so many things now it will seem like Christmas when we finally get our stuff unpacked.

Our daughter is just loving school. She has made some good friends, loves her classes, was asked yesterday to go with the basketball team to the State tournament, attended a Priest and Laurel Mystery Murder dinner for the Stake and made some new friends there.

Our son is getting more and more mobile. We head back to the Doctor on Thursday so we will keep you posted.

The husband is so busy, but what else is new!!

I am just plugging along loving watching my children step out of their boxes, face the challenges that are a part of their lives right now, and hoping that the stress of everything will be gone soon so I can get a good night's sleep!!

2 People I Greately admire...

As a parent you watch your children go through many ups and downs in their lives. You watch them make choices and pray alot for them.
But every once in a while your children experience something that is of great magnitude and it causes you to really take a look at them and see the strong character and strength that they have. I have had a chance to do this with both of my children in just the last few weeks.

Because of the horse riding accident our son has had to wake up everyday to needing help with just some of the basic things in life. He wakes up to much discomfort and sometimes pain. But as his mother this is what I have seen and greatly admire about him. He has (with exception of just a couple of times) been very appreciative of what we do for him. He has talked in a very kind voice. He has used the words please and thank you constantly. He has caused us to laugh. He has given us sound advise about praying about a house. He has teased his sister so lovingly. He has come up with ideas of creating things( wild rags, working leather, ideas for making more chaps) to keep himself busy and to make each of his days pass more quickly. Yesterday as he came from showering he said "this is getting really old", and yet not once has he showed any anger, no throwing of crutches, walker or taking off in his wheel chair. So what do I admire most about this situation and Matt. The patience that he is showing with himself, us and the whole situation. I admire the kindness that he is showing to all of us. I admire his gratitude for what is being done for him. But the thing I admire the most is his positive look on his life right now and the strength that he shows. You can truly tell that he knows that "this too shall pass".

Our daughter has come from living in the European culture for 8 1/2 years to moving to a small area of West Texas in America. She has changed school during her Junior year. She has had to make all new friends and re establish herself among a church group. So what do I admire about all of this. She has done it all with a smile on her face and such a positive attitude. At her school each day most of the 11th graders leave campus for lunch. Because she doesn't drive (at least not yet) she has been invited by many of her classmates to join them for lunch. As each day has gone by she has experiences situations where kids are talking about using drugs, to having sex, to the list could do on and on... But she has also had some great experiences with kids that want to take about things of substance. Alex has used such good judgement in quickly seeing those classmates that are of the standards that she has and keeps and has chosen to seek them out. On the basketball team one teammate is constantly being picked on by the other players, but Alex has chosen to befriend her and to build her up rather than tear her down. She has jumped out of the pickup everyday and very cheerfully walked into a new environment gladly accepting the trials that her day may bring. So what I admire about her the most is the example that she has been to all of us with her positive attitude, her desire to seek out those students that have high morals and principals, to see this whole moving thing as an adventure, to say "I am so thankful for Sunday when I can go and be spiritually feed so that I can make it through the week." What I admire the very most is she really gets it. She gets that she is here on this earth to go through her trials and through these trials get closer to her Heavenly Father.

It may have sounded as though I have been bragging about my children. But please know that I am not. I just wanted you to know and them to know how much I admire them.